On Wednesday, ESPN commentator Colin Cowherd went off on the city of Cincinnati calling it "boring", full of "bottom feeders" and "classless".

One part of me says the Cincinnati should just ignore his comments rather than "protest too much". And another part of me says he's right in some respects.

Every city in America has it's share of bottom feeders and losers and Cincinnati is no exception. Just spend the afternoon at a Reds game or Kings Island and you'll get your fill. But to claim that an entire city qualifies is an exaggeration.

Part of Cowherd's skit was coming up with new slogans for the city, most of which were not at all complementary. I've come up with some of my own slogans, some good and some not so good, but mostly true:

Cincinnati: What high school did you go to?Cincinnati: It's pretty here in the fall.Cincinnati: We love to litter!Cincinnati: The home of an amazing number of great restaurants for a city our size.Cincinnati: Where the weather sucks most of the time.Cincinnati: Our suburbs are thriving.Cincinnati: There's kind of a lot to do.Cincinnati: Home to a lot of good schools.

Cincinnati: Where men are men, but dress like women.Cincinnati: I was born here, so I'm stayin.

Friday, April 06, 2007

For those who are not Christians or are maybe agnostic in their faith, I ask the question.

Who is Jesus Christ?

The Romans documented his crucifixion so we know that he was not a mythological character such as Zeus or Apollo. So that leaves us with a few alternatives. He was either a fraud, a lunatic, a normal guy or the messiah.

If he was a fraud, do you think he would have allowed himself to be executed? Most criminals have this thing about self preservation so I would think that when things got harry he would have bolted at the first sign of trouble.

If he was a lunatic, would the Romans have gone to the trouble to execute him? In addition, how many guys do we see wearing aluminum hats having the staying power of their message for more than a minute, let alone 2000 years?

A normal guy? Well Jesus had hundreds of people follow him from city to city in an attempt to hear his message, hardly normal.

So that leaves us with the Messiah.

I've always loved the movie Braveheart because it illustrates in incredible vivid fashion as to what it means so passionate about a cause that you're willing to die for the cause. William Wallace still lives in the heart of many Scots, 600 years after his death.

What if someone was so passionate about God and his relationship with people, he was willing to die in order to reconcile the relationship between God and humanity? That's what Christ did for us.

So if you are still in doubt about Christ's cause, give some thought this Easter weekend about someone who created a legacy that's lasted more than 2000 years and lives in the souls of more than 2 billion people today.

Many people are put off by Christian evangelism. I know, I was one of them. But a few years ago, someone told me that when you watch a really great movie you tell people about it, you don't remain silent. Well imagine how much you want to share the greatest thing that ever happened in your life.... You want to share it with the world.

Thursday, April 05, 2007

The Ohio State Highway Patrol and the City of Cincinnati announced a DUI check point for Friday night somewhere in the city to be announced tomorrow morning. Apparently, the police have nicknamed the weekly event as "Shake Down a Bengal Tonight."

What they didn't announce is the bank robbery check point at a Key Bank in town, an assault with a deadly weapon check point on Liberty and Vine, and a child molestation check point at a local elementary school.

Really, it occurs to me that DUI and speeding are the only offenses where the police camp out and spend large resources to find offenders. Is it really a public safety issue or is it really a shakedown of the public for money?

I noticed that in last week's checkpoint they cited 105 out of 711 drivers for failure to wear a seat belt. It's a good thing to because you know those unlawful no seat belt guys, if you don't crack down on them it'll become a gateway to bigger crime like jaywalking or armed robbery.

This is in follow up to my post last week about presidential narcissism and Midas's post on the Mark Mallory's pitch.

Mallory is clearly a geek and politics are his way to get back at the guys who gave him big "nuggies" or "wedgies" right before they took his lunch money.

In that post I said I wanted to pick the candidate who least wanted the job. Now, I just want someone who has a life outside politics; like maybe someone who can throw a baseball with their kid(s).

So let's evaluate the athletic prowess of the following candidates

Democrats

Hilary Clinton - Apparently good at throwing lamps at BillJohn Edwards - Looks like he can do anything athletically that doesn't mess up his hair which really means nothing.Barack Obama - did I spell his name right?

Republicans

John McCain - Former golden gloves boxerRudy Guiliani - I've seen him throw a ball before... almost as good as Bush.Mitt Romney - Who?

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

He tried to add a little humor and a bit of damage control to the situation late today by issuing a top 10 list of reasons why he botched the throw. I hate to be picky, but why does he find it necessary to make a political jab while doing it?

#7. I didn’t want to show up President Bush. He might put a wiretap on me.

The good news... I actually predicted that the gators would win the tournament breaking a streak of three consecutive bad predictions.

The bad news.... well, if you are a Florida fan you'll probably never get to see another Florida - osu basketball game in your lifetime. How do I know? Well, in 1962 the University of Cincinnati gave another ohio state university a basketball ass kicking and it took 45 years and a team of walk ons before another ohio state university would give them a game.

But what do you expect from a team that participates in a conference where they can't count the teams... even with their shoes off.

On a slight tangent, will Greg Oden retire? He looked like Laurence Fishburne dragging ass down the court last night and given that he's about 48 years old, I thought that he could probably retire with his full buckeye pension.

Predicting the outcome of the baseball season is more about luck than actual knowledge. There are so many variables that can have an effect on a team. But, here's Midas's shot in the dark for the new season. Some of these come from the head, others from the heart.

Sunday, April 01, 2007

This past week Mike Brown, owner of the Cincinnati Bengals, voted against a financing plan that would adjust each NFL team's debt ceiling. This is an effort to help out the New York Jets and Giants who are planning to borrow nearly $650 million to build brand new stadiums.

What's fascinating about Mike's vote is his reasoning behind it. He states that he opposes "subsidies of all kinds".

Think back to 1996 when the voters of Hamilton county voted to increase the local sales tax to help subsidize a new stadium for the Bengals and Reds. The monstrosity built for the Bengals (Paul Brown Stadium) ended up costing local tax payers $450 million.

Mike Brown should run for Congress. He'd fit in just perfect in Washington, DC.